Never Will I Let Her Go Again One Shot
by ItsMeEmily
Summary: Set in Season 8, Episode 11; Darkness on the Edge of Town. After/during the accident with Brooke and Jamie. Julian's Point of View. A Brulian fanfic, please R&R!


I sat in the emergency room, my hands clasped together in my lap. Time, people, everything rushing past me as I waited to see my Brooke. All I could do was wait.

I held her in my arms, as her near lifeless body gasped in large amounts of air, trying to replace the dirty water inhaled in her lungs. Just two minuted ago she was not breathing.

_Come back to me baby._

_Come back to me Brooke._

_Come on Brooke, FIGHT!_

She had managed to save three lives, and if I couldn't have saved her here, today, I don't know what I would have done. The rain still hammering down on the ground around us, we were both soaked through our clothes. But that didn't matter, we were here. We were both alive.

She didn't deserve this, to be lying here, in pain and in fear. The possibility of losing her after having such a petty argument, never being able to apologise for what I had said. Asking her to leave Tree Hill would always be a bad idea, i knew that the second the words had left my lips. This is her home, and for the first time I feel it is mine too.

Less than five minutes ago was I frantically pounding against her chest, breathing air into her mouth. Doing everything I could to get her heart beating once again.

_Aunt Brooke is dead._

I thought I'd lost her forever, something no one should ever go through.

Nathan and Haley started to approach us once they had seen her breathing again, they could see the sense of shock, yet huge relief in my expression. They tried to take her out of my arms, I know only to help. But I would not let go, I'd made that mistake already today and it had almost cost us our future together.

_Never will I let her go again._

I took a deep breath and peeled my eyes away from the damage in the bridge where the car had fallen through, where I had watched them fall through. Minutes had passed and I was still staring ahead, listening to the inhale and exhale of her chest which had become less erratic, and rocking her back and forth. It didn't feel like time was passing, until Jamie was standing over Brooke, making sure we were OK, that his Aunt Brooke was OK. The storm was just as bad, if not worse, we were all dripping wet but that did not matter. Soon he returned to the arms of his concerned parents, leaving us alone again just for a moment.

I looked down at Brooke, to find her staring back at me as we searched for each others eyes. Those deep, warm brown eyes still gave me the same feeling in my stomach, the way they had when we first met. Although tainted with fear and exhaustion, they were still those same eyes. A delicate tear dropped from the corner of her eye, whether it was of relief or the realisation that she has almost lost her life, I would never know. I stopped it with my left thumb, placing a soft touch next to her eyelid, before it reached her cheek.

"Hello beautiful."

A small smile played on her lips, it seemed it was taking so much out of her, but it was a smile. Her throat was too painful, too bruised to reply with words but she winked weakly at me. A grin spread across my face, chuckling so quietly at something only Brooke Davis would do at a time like this. Here we were, in the middle of a storm almost seperated for eternity, and she had managed to make me smile. I couldn't hold back any longer, I leant down and placed a light kiss on the tip of her nose, and then on her lips. Although chapped and dry from her ordeal, it meant everything that we were there.

"I love you, Brooke Davis," I whispered in her ear.

Pulling away, I took her hand in mine, intertwining our fingers. I brought her hand up to my face and watched the diamond in her engagement ring glisten in the moonlight. The only thing about her that had come out unscathed and undamaged, resembling our future together. Suddenly I felt content again, knowing that we had so much ahead of us and that soon we didn't have to think about this day again.

Knowing that soon she would fall ill from the extreme cold, I lifted her up, still holding on to her tightly before setting her on her feet. I put an arm around her waist for support and helped her walk to Haley and Nathan's car to take her to the emergency room. Nathan took the other side of her waist as she limped, so fragile, toward the car. The windscreen wipers still on, the doors open from where they had run out to help.

We set her down on the seat between Jamie and me, after calling 911 to alert them of the wreckage. Brooke rested her head against my shoulder, undoubtedly exhausted. Jamie held one of her hands with both of his, as tightly as I held her other, both of us still watching her as though she was going to slip away from us once more. Jamie leant over and whispered in her ear "I love you, Aunt Brooke," and she squeezed his hand in reply. All of us were soaked through from the storm, yet so relieved that we were all alive that it didn't matter. Haley reached over and took Nathan's hand while he drove through the night, and we were all silent until we reached the hospital.

We told the doctor about the accident, and they took Brooke in and conducted routine checks, making sure she could go home. She must have stopped breathing for at least 5 minutes in the wreckage. Nathan, Haley and Jamie waited with me, they were just as concerned about her as I was and I don't know what I would do without them.

I sat in the emergency room, my hands clasped together in my lap. Time, people, everything rushing past me as I waited to see my Brooke. All I could do was wait.

Minutes had passed, it could have been hours and I wouldn't have noticed. Finally they called me through, looking at the clock it was getting late and must have been just over half an hour since we arrived.

"You should go, Jamie must be getting tired. We'll come over to see you tomorrow I promise." It was only fair, Jamie had been through just as much as Brooke had.

"We're not letting you get a cab man, we'll wait for you." Nathan told me.

Haley stroked my arm in support, "We'll be here when you come out Julian." She smiled, and I somehow felt reassured by that.

I followed the doctor into the room where they had seen Brooke. She was sitting on a bed in a hospital gown, but they said she was fine to go home tonight. I was relieved, there would be no way I could sleep knowing that she was in here alone, clearly with something about her condition making them want to keep her in.

She went out of the room to change back into her clothes. The doctor began telling me about their checks.

"Her breathing has regulated but her throat will still be sore so I'd recommend she doesn't speak too much. We've bandaged her leg up, its got some bruising from being jammed under the wheel, but there's nothing to worry about." He said this so calmly, but worrying would be all I was going to do. He continued; "She shouldn't need to come back, but make sure she gets plenty of rest in the next couple of days, if anything the shock will have had the biggest impact on her health."

"Oh don't worry Doc, I won't be letting her out of my sight."

"She's lucky to have you Mr Baker, safe journey home." He left the room, just as Brooke re-entered. She was wearing the clothes we had came in, they must have been as damp as I knew mine were. She walked toward me, limping slightly on her right leg and put her arms around my neck. She rested her head on my shoulder comfortably. I put my arms around her waist and kissed her hair lightly before closing my eyes and savouring her scent.

"How is it you still manage to look beautiful just after you've nearly drowned, Brooke Davis?" She pulled away and I looked into her eyes once again. She sighed deepy, her throat rasping.

"Because I've got you, Julian Baker. You saved me."

I smiled down at her, which slightly confused her. "What?" She asked, puzzled.

"It feels good to hear your voice again, I thought I never would."

"I'm not going anywhere, don't worry."

I pulled her back into our embrace, before taking her hand in mine and leading her out of the door, back to our friends. Haley instantly ran up to Brooke, as fast as she could in her state of pregnancy. She hugged her tightly, "I don't know what I'll ever do with out you, don't you ever scare me again Brooke!"

"I won't Hales, besides, someones got to keep an eye on Julian," she giggled, and somehow it actually seemed like I had my Brooke back already.

"Aunt Brooke!" Jamie called, as he too ran upto her and hugged her thighs.

"Ouch Jame, mind that leg. Looks like we both made it out okay, safe to say Lauren's car didn't..."

"Oh, she won't mind, you did save her life." He turned to me, "Thank you Julian, you saved my life too."

"No problem buddy, its nothing." I bumped his fist, and we all headed out to the car, thankful to finally be going home.

The drive was much the same as the one here, silent. Jamie had fallen asleep on Brooke's lap and I stroked her hand repeatedly. The storm still had not subsided, the rain dripping down the window. We reached our home soon enough, the relief of a familiar place filling us both. Setting Jamie back down on the seat still asleep, I helped Brooke out of the car and thanked Nathan and Haley. By now it was almost midnight.

Closing the door behind us, I took Brooke into the bedroom and helped her change out of her damp clothes into something more comfortable. I made us hot drinks and we sat down on the sofa, her head resting on my lap, a blanket draped over her. She looked up at me, and again I was lost in her eyes. Stroking her hair, she began to lose consciousness.

"I love you, Brooke Davis."

She smiled and squeezed my hand and mouthed "I love you," before her eyelids drooped, sending her into a peaceful sleep.

I sat there and watched her breathing, her stomach rising and falling, savouring each breath she took.

"I'm not taking any time we have together for granted anymore," I whispered under my breath, before I continued to watch her sleep.

_Never will I let go of her again._


End file.
